EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING

Educators Need a Shared Mental Model for Co-Facilitation

Why is this skill missing from training?

Kristina Riggs
Work City
Published in
4 min readJun 20, 2024

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Image by Alexa from Pixabay

Throughout my 20 years in experiential education, I've often had to perform one particular facilitation skill without formal training. What responsibility are professionals expected to master without the typical level of practice and preparation?

Co-facilitation.

Co-facilitation is not a new topic for those who regularly lead teams or students through experiences and reflection. However, how we define the term may lead to vastly different planning and delivery methods.

In discussions with other professionals, they have similar gaps in their formal education. Have you ever received official training on smoothly serving alongside another facilitator? If not, you are not alone.

What is co-facilitation?

In its simplest form, co-facilitation involves sharing teaching responsibilities with more than one person. However, any task involving multiple people becomes messy and unclear without a shared mental model.

How much responsibility does each instructor have? Is it equally divided or weighted towards the staff with more experience? Does the division of labor…

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Kristina Riggs
Work City

20 yrs in experiential education field. Focus on leadership and facilitator development along w/ life's curve balls & the experiences that make us who we are.